Decay of radioactive materials produces electrically charged radioactive particles such as .alpha. particles, .beta. particles, and .gamma. particles. As with other nuclear processes, the charge scale of these types of radiation is millions of times greater than in non-nuclear processes. For example, .alpha. decay of the Am.sub.241 radioisotope has a half-life of 458 years and can introduce 5.5 million electron volts (MeV) into a typical semiconductor material. On the average, however, 3.6 electron volts (eV) are necessary to produce one electron-hole pair the typical semiconductor material. Thus, for every .alpha. particle traveling through the semiconductor material approximately 1.53 million electron-hole pairs may be formed. In contrast, for a typical photo-cell each photon that is absorbed by a photon-responsive semiconductor material generates only one electron-hole pair. If a method and apparatus existed to harness the power that comes from atomic particles, then this energy could be used for a variety of power applications.